Systems and methods for injecting drivers into computing systems during restore operations

ABSTRACT

The disclosed computer-implemented method for injecting drivers into computing systems during restore operations may include (1) identifying a restore operation directed to restoring a system volume on a computing system, (2) locating, at least in part by examining a hardware configuration of the computing system being restored, at least one driver utilized by the hardware configuration, (3) representing the system volume as an image to a deployment image servicing and management application, and (4) causing the deployment image servicing and management application to inject the driver into the computing system as part of the restore operation. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

BACKGROUND

Computing devices may be configured with a wide and ever-growing varietyof hardware and/or connected to a plethora of peripherals. Thesehardware devices and peripherals are typically managed by scripts knownas device drivers and may not be usable without the correct driver. Eachpiece of hardware or peripheral may have its own driver, which may becustomized or tailored for each operating system the hardware may beconnected to. Even virtual devices may use drivers to interact withoperating systems.

Early systems for installing drivers often required users to have accessto physical media, such as a compact disk, that came with the hardware.More modern systems may automatically inject drivers into the operatingsystem during device installation. However, drivers may be lost duringcomputing system crashes or may not be available from their originalsources if a computing environment is restored onto different hardwarethan the computing environment was originally generated on.

Traditional systems for restoring system volumes typically involveinjecting drivers into an offline version of a volume after the volumehas been restored. However, these systems often use specific code thatis tailored to the hardware configuration and/or operating system of thedevice in question, increasing the difficulty and complexity ofmaintaining proper driver configurations. Vendors of an operating systemalso often change which registry keys are updated upon driver injection,requiring the applications that inject these drivers to be rewritteneach time.

In some traditional systems, Deployment Image Servicing and Management(DISM) applications may be used to inject drivers before the volume isdeployed to a target device. However, anticipating the future hardwareconfigurations of computing systems that have not yet been deployed maybe very difficult, making it unlikely that the correct combination ofdrivers may be installed in advance. Accordingly, the instant disclosureidentifies and addresses a need for additional and improved systems andmethods for injecting drivers into to-be-restored volumes.

SUMMARY

As will be described in greater detail below, the instant disclosuredescribes various systems and methods for using DISM applications toinject drivers into deployed system volumes during restore operations ina hardware-agnostic fashion. In one example, a computer-implementedmethod for performing such a task may include (1) identifying a restoreoperation directed to restoring a system volume on a computing system,(2) locating, at least in part by examining a hardware configuration ofthe computing system being restored, at least one driver utilized by thehardware configuration, (3) representing the system volume as an imageto a DISM application, and (4) causing the DISM application to injectthe driver into the computing system as part of the restore operation.

The driver may be located in a variety of ways. In some examples,locating the driver may include locating an identifier of the driver ina driver database and retrieving the driver from the driver database. Insome examples, locating the driver may include retrieving the driverfrom a driver store maintained by a restore application that isperforming the restore operation. Additionally or alternatively,locating the driver may include prompting a user for a location of thedriver.

In some examples, examining the hardware configuration of the computingsystem may include examining the hardware configuration during therestore operation. Additionally or alternatively, the step of examiningthe hardware configuration may occur after deployment of the systemvolume to the computing system, such that the steps of locating andinjecting the driver may be hardware agnostic.

In some examples, identifying the restore operation directed torestoring the system volume may include detecting, on the system volume,a file structure that is characteristic of the system volume. In oneembodiment, the step of locating the driver may be contingent ondetermining that the restore operation is directed to restoring thesystem volume and not a data volume.

In some examples, causing the DISM application to inject the driver mayinclude interacting with the DISM application via an applicationprogramming interface. In one embodiment, the step of causing the DISMapplication to inject the driver into the computing system may occurafter deployment of the system volume to the computing system.

In one embodiment, the computer-implemented method may further includedetermining that the driver represents an incorrect driver for thehardware configuration. In this case, the systems described herein mayautomatically restart the restore operation, locate a correct driver forthe hardware configuration, and cause the DISM application to inject thecorrect driver.

In one example, the computer-implemented method may further includeidentifying an additional restore operation on an additional computingsystem. In this example, the systems described herein may (1) determinethat the additional computing system includes a different hardwareconfiguration that does not utilize the driver and (2) remove, as partof the additional restore process, the driver that is not utilized bythe different hardware configuration.

In one embodiment, a system for implementing the above-described methodmay include (1) an identification module, stored in memory, thatidentifies a restore operation directed to restoring a system volume ona computing system, (2) a location module, stored in memory, thatlocates, at least in part by examining a hardware configuration of thecomputing system being restored, at least one driver utilized by thehardware configuration, (3) a representation module, stored in memory,that represents the system volume as an image to a DISM application, (4)an injection module, stored in memory, that causes the DISM applicationto inject the driver into the computing system as part of the restoreoperation, and (5) at least one physical processor configured to executethe identification module, the location module, the representationmodule, and the injection module.

In some examples, the above-described method may be encoded ascomputer-readable instructions on a non-transitory computer-readablemedium. For example, a computer-readable medium may include one or morecomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor of a computing device, may cause the computing device to (1)identify a restore operation directed to restoring a system volume on acomputing system, (2) locate, at least in part by examining a hardwareconfiguration of the computing system being restored, at least onedriver utilized by the hardware configuration, (3) represent the systemvolume as an image to a DISM application, and (4) cause the DISMapplication to inject the driver into the computing system as part ofthe restore operation.

Features from any of the above-mentioned embodiments may be used incombination with one another in accordance with the general principlesdescribed herein. These and other embodiments, features, and advantageswill be more fully understood upon reading the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of exemplary embodimentsand are a part of the specification. Together with the followingdescription, these drawings demonstrate and explain various principlesof the instant disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for injecting driversinto computing systems during restore operations.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an additional exemplary system forinjecting drivers into computing systems during restore operations.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for injecting driversinto computing systems during restore operations.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for injecting driversinto computing systems during restore operations.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system for injectingdrivers into computing systems during restore operations.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system capable ofimplementing one or more of the embodiments described and/or illustratedherein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing network capable ofimplementing one or more of the embodiments described and/or illustratedherein.

Throughout the drawings, identical reference characters and descriptionsindicate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. While theexemplary embodiments described herein are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detailherein. However, the exemplary embodiments described herein are notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, theinstant disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods forinjecting drivers into computing systems during restore operations. Aswill be explained in greater detail below, by representing ato-be-restored system volume as an image to a DISM application that isbuilt into a target device's operating system, the disclosed systems mayenable the DISM application to inject the drivers that are required bythe system volume for successful operation during (as opposed to priorto) the restore operation itself. In addition, because thisdriver-injection process occurs after the system volume has already beendeployed to the target device, this driver-injection process may, ineffect, represent a hardware-agnostic process that avoids the need fordriver-specific and/or operating-system-specific code. This may in turnsimplify the restore process, reduce the chances of incorrect injectionof drivers, and improve the chances of successful disaster recovery.

The following will provide, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 5,detailed descriptions of exemplary systems for injecting drivers intocomputing systems during restore operations. Detailed descriptions ofcorresponding computer-implemented methods will also be provided inconnection with FIGS. 3 and 4. In addition, detailed descriptions of anexemplary computing system and network architecture capable ofimplementing one or more of the embodiments described herein will beprovided in connection with FIGS. 6 and 7, respectively.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of exemplary system 100 for injecting driversinto computing systems during restore operations. As illustrated in thisfigure, exemplary system 100 may include one or more modules 102 forperforming one or more tasks. For example, and as will be explained ingreater detail below, exemplary system 100 may include an identificationmodule 104 that may identify a restore operation directed to restoring asystem volume on a computing system. Exemplary system 100 mayadditionally include a location module 106 that may locate, at least inpart by examining a hardware configuration of the computing system beingrestored, at least one driver utilized by the hardware configuration.

Exemplary system 100 may also include a representation module 108 thatmay represent the system volume as an image to a DISM application.Exemplary system 100 may additionally include an injection module 110that may cause the DISM application to inject the driver into thecomputing system as part of the restore operation. Although illustratedas separate elements, one or more of modules 102 in FIG. 1 may representportions of a single module or application. In certain embodiments, oneor more of modules 102 in FIG. 1 may represent one or more softwareapplications or programs that, when executed by a computing device, maycause the computing device to perform one or more tasks. For example,and as will be described in greater detail below, one or more of modules102 may represent software modules stored and configured to run on oneor more computing devices, such as computing device 202 in FIG. 2,computing system 610 in FIG. 6, and/or portions of exemplary networkarchitecture 700 in FIG. 7. One or more of modules 102 in FIG. 1 mayalso represent all or portions of one or more special-purpose computersconfigured to perform one or more tasks.

Exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1 may be implemented in a variety of ways.For example, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 may representportions of exemplary system 200 in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, system200 may include a computing device 202. In one example, computing device202 may be programmed with one or more of modules 102.

In one embodiment, one or more of modules 102 from FIG. 1 may, whenexecuted by at least one processor of computing device 202, enablecomputing device 202 to inject drivers into computing systems duringrestore operations. For example, and as will be described in greaterdetail below, identification module 104 may identify a restore operation208 directed to restoring a system volume 210 on computing device 202.Next, location module 106 may locate, at least in part by examining ahardware configuration of computing device 202, at least one driver 212utilized by the hardware configuration. After driver 212 has beenlocated, representation module 108 may represent system volume 210 as animage to a DISM application 214 within an operating system installed oncomputing device 202. Finally, injection module 110 may cause DISMapplication 214 to inject driver 212 into computing device 202 as partof restore operation 208.

Computing device 202 generally represents any type or form of computingdevice capable of reading computer-executable instructions. Examples ofcomputing device 202 include, without limitation, laptops, tablets,desktops, servers, cellular phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs),multimedia players, embedded systems, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses, etc.), gaming consoles, combinations of one ormore of the same, exemplary computing system 610 in FIG. 6, or any othersuitable computing device.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary computer-implemented method 300for injecting drivers into computing systems during restore operations.The steps shown in FIG. 3 may be performed by any suitablecomputer-executable code and/or computing system. In some embodiments,the steps shown in FIG. 3 may be performed by one or more of thecomponents of system 100 in FIG. 1, system 200 in FIG. 2, computingsystem 610 in FIG. 6, and/or portions of exemplary network architecture700 in FIG. 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, at step 302 one or more of the systemsdescribed herein may identify a restore operation directed to restoringa system volume on a computing system. For example, identificationmodule 104 may, as part of computing device 202 in FIG. 2, identify arestore operation 208 directed to restoring a system volume 210 oncomputing device 202.

The term “restore operation,” as used herein, generally refers to anyoperation directed to restoring previously stored data, applications,and/or operating systems to a computing system, regardless of whetherthe data, applications, and/or operating systems were previously storedon the computing system that is the target of the restore operation. Insome examples, a restore operation may be used to restore a computingsystem to a previous state held by the computing system.

Identification module 104 may identify the restore operation in avariety of ways and/or contexts. For example, identification module 104may identify a restore operation directed to restoring a personalcomputer. In another example, identification module 104 may identify arestore operation launched from a server to restore an enterprisecomputer. In some embodiments, identification module 104 may execute aspart of the restore application that is processing the restoreoperation.

The term “system volume,” as used herein, generally refers to anystorage container used to store files that are critical to starting anoperating system. In some examples, a system volume may include a diskvolume that includes operating-system and/or hardware-specific files,such as device drivers. For example, a WINDOWS system volume may includea variety of operating-system and/or hardware-specific files, such as aBoot.ini file and/or Boot Configuration Data.

In some examples, identification module 104 may determine that therestore operation is directed to restoring a system volume by detecting,on the system volume, a file structure that is characteristic of systemvolumes. For example, identification module 104 may detect a WINDOWSfolder, a system volume information folder, a boot folder, a boot file,and/or a combination of folders and/or files typically found on systemvolumes.

At step 304, one or more of the systems described herein may locate, atleast in part by examining a hardware configuration of the computingsystem being restored, at least one driver utilized by the hardwareconfiguration. For example, location module 106 may, as part ofcomputing device 202 in FIG. 2, locate, at least in part by examining ahardware configuration of computing device 202, at least one driver 212utilized by the hardware configuration.

The term “hardware configuration,” as used herein, generally refers toany type or form of information that describes and/or details thedevices that are attached to or that make up a computing system. Forexample, a hardware configuration for a computing system may includeinformation that identifies each device that is attached to or thatforms a part of the computing system and, for each device, the device'sconfiguration or version, how the device interacts with the computingsystem's operating system, the device's type, etc. Examples of suchdevices include, without limitation, a hardware device, a peripheral,and/or a virtual device.

The term “device driver” or “driver,” as used herein, generally refersto any script, application, software, and/or set of instructions forinterfacing between a device and an operating system. In some examples,a driver may communicate with a device through a communicationssubsystem in the computing system. In addition, a driver may be specificto a device and/or an operating system.

Location module 106 may locate the driver in a variety of ways. In oneexample, location module 106 may locate the driver by locating anidentifier of the driver in a driver database and then retrieving thedriver from the driver database. An identifier of the driver may includea name of the driver, an identifier of a vendor of the driver, a versionnumber of the driver, and/or a numerical identifier of the driver. Insome embodiments, the driver database may be located on the computingsystem being restored. In other embodiments, the driver database may bestored on a server on a local network and/or on the Internet.

In some examples, location module 106 may locate the driver byretrieving the driver from a driver store maintained by a restoreapplication that is performing the restore operation. In someembodiments, the restore application may maintain the driver store bystoring driver information during the creation of system restore points.

Additionally or alternatively, location module 106 may locate the driverby prompting a user for a location of the driver. For example, locationmodule 106 may prompt the user to connect a storage device that stores acopy of the driver, enter a location on the computing system and/or thenetwork where the driver may be downloaded, and/or enter a location onthe Internet where the driver may be downloaded.

In some embodiments, location module 106 may examine the hardwareconfiguration of the computing system during the restore operation. Inthese embodiments, the systems described herein may have no previousinformation about the hardware configuration of the computing systembefore location module 106 examines the same during the restoreoperation.

For example, location module 106 may examine the hardware configurationof the target computing system during the restore operation, whichoccurs after the system volume has already been deployed to thecomputing system. In this example, the computing system may have aspecific hardware configuration that requires a particular driver. Assuch, the restore operation may have no information about this specifichardware configuration or particular driver until after location module106 has examined the computing system's hardware. Because locationmodule 106 may examine the hardware configuration at restore time, therestore operation and/or driver-injection applications may be written ina hardware-agnostic manner.

In one embodiment, the performance of step 304 may be contingent ondetermining that the restore operation identified in step 302 isdirected to restoring a system volume and not a data volume. Forexample, if identification module 104 determines that the restoreoperation identified in step 302 is directed to restoring a data volume,the systems described herein may not operate on the data volume and/ormay not inject drivers into the volume that is being restored.

At step 306, one or more of the systems described herein may representthe system volume as an image to a DISM application. For example,representation module 108 may, as part of computing device 202 in FIG.2, represent system volume 210 as an image to a DISM application 214that is part of an operating system installed on computing device 202.

The term “image,” as used herein, generally refers to any representationof the state of a computing system. In some examples, an image mayinclude the complete contents and structure of a computing system and/ordata storage device. Examples of images include, without limitation,system deployment images, virtual hard drive files, and/or WINDOWSimaging (WIM) files.

The term “deployment image servicing and management application” or“DISM application,” as used herein, generally refers to any tool used tomanipulate, configure, and/or service offline images that have not yetbeen deployed. In some examples, a DISM application may be used toinstall, uninstall, configure, and/or update operating system features,packages, drivers, and/or settings before image deployment. An exampleof a DISM application may include the DISM.exe command line tool onWINDOWS operating systems.

Representation module 108 may represent the system volume as an image tothe DISM application in a variety of ways. For example, representationmodule 108 may represent the system volume as a WIM file to anapplication programming interface (API) provided by the DISMapplication. In some examples, representation module 108 may representthe system volume as an image to the DISM application by wrapping thesystem volume in a wrapper that mimics an image file. Additionally oralternatively, representation module 108 may fill out one or more fieldsin a call to a DISM API in a manner that indicates that the DISM APIshould expect an image file.

In some embodiments, representation module 108 may represent the systemvolume as a WIM file because the DISM application may be unable toinject drivers into system volumes and/or may be configured to onlyinject drivers into WIM files. Thus, by representing the system volumeas a WIM file, representation module 108 may enable the DISM applicationto directly interact with and inject drivers into the system volume,potentially avoiding the need for driver-specific and/oroperating-system-specific code.

At step 308, one or more of the systems described herein may cause theDISM application to inject the driver into the computing system as partof the restore operation. For example, injection module 110 may, as partof computing device 202 in FIG. 2, cause the DISM application to injectdriver 212 into computing device 202 as part of restore operation 208.

Injection module 110 may cause the DISM application to inject the driverin a variety of ways and/or contexts. For example, injection module 110may cause the DISM application to inject the driver by interacting withthe DISM application via an API. In this example, injection module 110may send the DISM application instructions via the DISM API to configurethe system volume with the driver.

As detailed above, in some embodiments, location module 106 may locatethe driver in question after the system volume has already been deployedto the computing system that is being restored. In these embodiments,injection module 110 may also cause the DISM application to inject thedriver into the computing system after the system volume has alreadybeen deployed to the computing system, such that the steps of locatingand injecting the driver are performed in a hardware-agnostic manner.For example, a system volume may be deployed to a computing system witha specific hardware configuration that requires a particular driver. Inthis example, the systems described herein may have no information aboutthe specific hardware configuration or the particular driver until afterlocation module 106 has examined the hardware (which, as detailed above,may only occur after the system volume has already been deployed). Inthis example, injection module 110 may then use the hardwareconfiguration information and/or driver information from location module106 to inject the driver into the computing system, even thoughinjection module 110 was not previously configured to handle thespecific hardware configuration of the computing system in question. Themethod described above is different from traditional methods thatinvolve injecting drivers into images before deployment, thus requiringdetailed assumptions about hardware configurations that may prove to beincorrect.

In some examples, an incorrect driver may be injected despite theefforts detailed above. Accordingly, in one embodiment the systemsdescribed herein may include (1) determining that the driver representsan incorrect driver for the hardware configuration, (2) automaticallyrestarting the restore operation, (3) locating a correct driver for thehardware configuration, and (4) causing the DISM application to injectthe correct driver. For example, during step 304 a user may havespecified an incorrect driver for the hardware configuration. Thecomputing system may fail to boot properly after the restore operationif an incorrect driver is used in place of the correct driver. In thisexample, the systems described herein may detect the incorrect driverand may automatically restart the restore operation so that the correctdriver may be found and the restore operation may succeed.

The systems described herein may operate in a variety of ways. FIG. 4 isa flow diagram of an exemplary method 400 for injecting drivers intocomputing systems during restore operations. As illustrated in FIG. 4,at step 402 the systems described herein may identify a restoreoperation on a computing system. For example, identification module 104may, as part of a restore application running on computing device 202 inFIG. 2, identify an attempt by the restore application to restore systemvolume 210 to computing device. At step 404, the systems describedherein may determine if the restore operation is directed to restoring asystem volume. For example, identification module 104 may determine thatsystem volume 210 is a target of restore operation 208. If the restoreoperation is not directed to restoring a system volume, the involvementof the systems described herein in the restore operation may come to anend.

If the restore operation is directed to a system volume, at step 406 thesystems described herein may examine the hardware configuration todetermine what drivers are needed. For example, location module 106 may,as part of a restore application running on computing device 202 in FIG.2, examine any or all hardware connected to computing device 202. Thesystems described herein may then retrieve the drivers in any or all ofa number of ways.

At step 408, the systems described herein may retrieve the drivers froma database. At step 410, the systems described herein may retrieve thedrivers from a driver store. Additionally or alternatively, at step 412the systems described herein may prompt a user for driver locations. Insome examples, location module 106 may retrieve the drivers in any orall of the ways described above. After the drivers have been retrieved,the systems described herein may inject the drivers using a DISMapplication at step 414. In some embodiments, the systems describedherein may represent the system volume as an image file to a DISM API.For example, representation module 108 may, as part of a restoreapplication running on computing device 202 in FIG. 2, represent system210 volume as an image to DISM application 214 and injection module 110may cause DISM application 214 to inject driver 212 into the computingsystem.

Before, after, and/or in lieu of injecting drivers into the computingsystem, the systems described herein may remove at least one driver fromthe computing system. In one example, the systems described herein mayidentify an additional restore operation on an additional computingsystem, determine that the additional computing system includes adifferent hardware configuration that does not utilize the driver, andremove, as part of the additional restore process, the driver that isnot utilized by the different hardware configuration. In anotherexample, the hardware configuration of a computing system may havechanged since a restore image was taken and may no longer make use ofall the drivers included in the restore image. FIG. 5 is a block diagramof an exemplary computing system 500 for injecting drivers intocomputing systems during restore operations. As illustrated in FIG. 5,computing device 502 may include modules 102, DISM application 504,driver 506, and/or hardware configuration 508. Computing device 512 mayinclude modules 102, DISM application 504, driver 506, and/or hardwareconfiguration 518. In some examples, hardware configuration 518 may notrequire driver 506. In this example, modules 102 may use DISMapplication 504 to remove unnecessary driver 506 from computing device512. In some examples, modules 102 may remove drive 506 from computingdevice 512 as part of a restore operation.

As described above in connection with method 300, the systems describedherein may inject drivers into a computing system during a restoreoperation by representing a system volume as an image to a DISMapplication. Representing the system volume as an image may allow thesystems described herein to take advantage of the fact that the DISMapplication is a part of the target system's operating system, such thatthe restore application does not need to know the precise configurationof the system's registry in order to successfully inject the drivers.Using the DISM application in this way may also enable the systemsdescribed herein to inject drivers more accurately while being writtenin a hardware-agnostic fashion that may allow for increased flexibility.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system 610 capableof implementing one or more of the embodiments described and/orillustrated herein. For example, all or a portion of computing system610 may perform and/or be a means for performing, either alone or incombination with other elements, one or more of the steps describedherein (such as one or more of the steps illustrated in FIG. 3). All ora portion of computing system 610 may also perform and/or be a means forperforming any other steps, methods, or processes described and/orillustrated herein.

Computing system 610 broadly represents any single or multi-processorcomputing device or system capable of executing computer-readableinstructions. Examples of computing system 610 include, withoutlimitation, workstations, laptops, client-side terminals, servers,distributed computing systems, handheld devices, or any other computingsystem or device. In its most basic configuration, computing system 610may include at least one processor 614 and a system memory 616.

Processor 614 generally represents any type or form of physicalprocessing unit (e.g., a hardware-implemented central processing unit)capable of processing data or interpreting and executing instructions.In certain embodiments, processor 614 may receive instructions from asoftware application or module. These instructions may cause processor614 to perform the functions of one or more of the exemplary embodimentsdescribed and/or illustrated herein.

System memory 616 generally represents any type or form of volatile ornon-volatile storage device or medium capable of storing data and/orother computer-readable instructions. Examples of system memory 616include, without limitation, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read OnlyMemory (ROM), flash memory, or any other suitable memory device.Although not required, in certain embodiments computing system 610 mayinclude both a volatile memory unit (such as, for example, system memory616) and a non-volatile storage device (such as, for example, primarystorage device 632, as described in detail below). In one example, oneor more of modules 102 from FIG. 1 may be loaded into system memory 616.

In certain embodiments, exemplary computing system 610 may also includeone or more components or elements in addition to processor 614 andsystem memory 616. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, computingsystem 610 may include a memory controller 618, an Input/Output (I/O)controller 620, and a communication interface 622, each of which may beinterconnected via a communication infrastructure 612. Communicationinfrastructure 612 generally represents any type or form ofinfrastructure capable of facilitating communication between one or morecomponents of a computing device. Examples of communicationinfrastructure 612 include, without limitation, a communication bus(such as an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI), PCI Express (PCIe), or similar bus) and a network.

Memory controller 618 generally represents any type or form of devicecapable of handling memory or data or controlling communication betweenone or more components of computing system 610. For example, in certainembodiments memory controller 618 may control communication betweenprocessor 614, system memory 616, and I/O controller 620 viacommunication infrastructure 612.

I/O controller 620 generally represents any type or form of modulecapable of coordinating and/or controlling the input and outputfunctions of a computing device. For example, in certain embodiments I/Ocontroller 620 may control or facilitate transfer of data between one ormore elements of computing system 610, such as processor 614, systemmemory 616, communication interface 622, display adapter 626, inputinterface 630, and storage interface 634.

Communication interface 622 broadly represents any type or form ofcommunication device or adapter capable of facilitating communicationbetween exemplary computing system 610 and one or more additionaldevices. For example, in certain embodiments communication interface 622may facilitate communication between computing system 610 and a privateor public network including additional computing systems. Examples ofcommunication interface 622 include, without limitation, a wired networkinterface (such as a network interface card), a wireless networkinterface (such as a wireless network interface card), a modem, and anyother suitable interface. In at least one embodiment, communicationinterface 622 may provide a direct connection to a remote server via adirect link to a network, such as the Internet. Communication interface622 may also indirectly provide such a connection through, for example,a local area network (such as an Ethernet network), a personal areanetwork, a telephone or cable network, a cellular telephone connection,a satellite data connection, or any other suitable connection.

In certain embodiments, communication interface 622 may also represent ahost adapter configured to facilitate communication between computingsystem 610 and one or more additional network or storage devices via anexternal bus or communications channel. Examples of host adaptersinclude, without limitation, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) hostadapters, Universal Serial Bus (USB) host adapters, Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 host adapters, AdvancedTechnology Attachment (ATA), Parallel ATA (PATA), Serial ATA (SATA), andExternal SATA (eSATA) host adapters, Fibre Channel interface adapters,Ethernet adapters, or the like. Communication interface 622 may alsoallow computing system 610 to engage in distributed or remote computing.For example, communication interface 622 may receive instructions from aremote device or send instructions to a remote device for execution.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, computing system 610 may also include at leastone display device 624 coupled to communication infrastructure 612 via adisplay adapter 626. Display device 624 generally represents any type orform of device capable of visually displaying information forwarded bydisplay adapter 626. Similarly, display adapter 626 generally representsany type or form of device configured to forward graphics, text, andother data from communication infrastructure 612 (or from a framebuffer, as known in the art) for display on display device 624.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, exemplary computing system 610 may alsoinclude at least one input device 628 coupled to communicationinfrastructure 612 via an input interface 630. Input device 628generally represents any type or form of input device capable ofproviding input, either computer or human generated, to exemplarycomputing system 610. Examples of input device 628 include, withoutlimitation, a keyboard, a pointing device, a speech recognition device,or any other input device.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, exemplary computing system 610 may alsoinclude a primary storage device 632 and a backup storage device 633coupled to communication infrastructure 612 via a storage interface 634.Storage devices 632 and 633 generally represent any type or form ofstorage device or medium capable of storing data and/or othercomputer-readable instructions. For example, storage devices 632 and 633may be a magnetic disk drive (e.g., a so-called hard drive), a solidstate drive, a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical diskdrive, a flash drive, or the like. Storage interface 634 generallyrepresents any type or form of interface or device for transferring databetween storage devices 632 and 633 and other components of computingsystem 610.

In certain embodiments, storage devices 632 and 633 may be configured toread from and/or write to a removable storage unit configured to storecomputer software, data, or other computer-readable information.Examples of suitable removable storage units include, withoutlimitation, a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, an optical disk, a flashmemory device, or the like. Storage devices 632 and 633 may also includeother similar structures or devices for allowing computer software,data, or other computer-readable instructions to be loaded intocomputing system 610. For example, storage devices 632 and 633 may beconfigured to read and write software, data, or other computer-readableinformation. Storage devices 632 and 633 may also be a part of computingsystem 610 or may be a separate device accessed through other interfacesystems.

Many other devices or subsystems may be connected to computing system610. Conversely, all of the components and devices illustrated in FIG. 6need not be present to practice the embodiments described and/orillustrated herein. The devices and subsystems referenced above may alsobe interconnected in different ways from that shown in FIG. 6. Computingsystem 610 may also employ any number of software, firmware, and/orhardware configurations. For example, one or more of the exemplaryembodiments disclosed herein may be encoded as a computer program (alsoreferred to as computer software, software applications,computer-readable instructions, or computer control logic) on acomputer-readable medium. The term “computer-readable medium,” as usedherein, generally refers to any form of device, carrier, or mediumcapable of storing or carrying computer-readable instructions. Examplesof computer-readable media include, without limitation,transmission-type media, such as carrier waves, and non-transitory-typemedia, such as magnetic-storage media (e.g., hard disk drives, tapedrives, and floppy disks), optical-storage media (e.g., Compact Disks(CDs), Digital Video Disks (DVDs), and BLU-RAY disks),electronic-storage media (e.g., solid-state drives and flash media), andother distribution systems.

The computer-readable medium containing the computer program may beloaded into computing system 610. All or a portion of the computerprogram stored on the computer-readable medium may then be stored insystem memory 616 and/or various portions of storage devices 632 and633. When executed by processor 614, a computer program loaded intocomputing system 610 may cause processor 614 to perform and/or be ameans for performing the functions of one or more of the exemplaryembodiments described and/or illustrated herein. Additionally oralternatively, one or more of the exemplary embodiments described and/orillustrated herein may be implemented in firmware and/or hardware. Forexample, computing system 610 may be configured as an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) adapted to implement one or more ofthe exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary network architecture 700 inwhich client systems 710, 720, and 730 and servers 740 and 745 may becoupled to a network 750. As detailed above, all or a portion of networkarchitecture 700 may perform and/or be a means for performing, eitheralone or in combination with other elements, one or more of the stepsdisclosed herein (such as one or more of the steps illustrated in FIG.3). All or a portion of network architecture 700 may also be used toperform and/or be a means for performing other steps and features setforth in the instant disclosure.

Client systems 710, 720, and 730 generally represent any type or form ofcomputing device or system, such as exemplary computing system 610 inFIG. 6. Similarly, servers 740 and 745 generally represent computingdevices or systems, such as application servers or database servers,configured to provide various database services and/or run certainsoftware applications. Network 750 generally represents anytelecommunication or computer network including, for example, anintranet, a WAN, a LAN, a PAN, or the Internet. In one example, clientsystems 710, 720, and/or 730 and/or servers 740 and/or 745 may includeall or a portion of system 100 from FIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, one or more storage devices 760(1)-(N) may bedirectly attached to server 740. Similarly, one or more storage devices770(1)-(N) may be directly attached to server 745. Storage devices760(1)-(N) and storage devices 770(1)-(N) generally represent any typeor form of storage device or medium capable of storing data and/or othercomputer-readable instructions. In certain embodiments, storage devices760(1)-(N) and storage devices 770(1)-(N) may represent Network-AttachedStorage (NAS) devices configured to communicate with servers 740 and 745using various protocols, such as Network File System (NFS), ServerMessage Block (SMB), or Common Internet File System (CIFS).

Servers 740 and 745 may also be connected to a Storage Area Network(SAN) fabric 780. SAN fabric 780 generally represents any type or formof computer network or architecture capable of facilitatingcommunication between a plurality of storage devices. SAN fabric 780 mayfacilitate communication between servers 740 and 745 and a plurality ofstorage devices 790(1)-(N) and/or an intelligent storage array 795. SANfabric 780 may also facilitate, via network 750 and servers 740 and 745,communication between client systems 710, 720, and 730 and storagedevices 790(1)-(N) and/or intelligent storage array 795 in such a mannerthat devices 790(1)-(N) and array 795 appear as locally attached devicesto client systems 710, 720, and 730. As with storage devices 760(1)-(N)and storage devices 770(1)-(N), storage devices 790(1)-(N) andintelligent storage array 795 generally represent any type or form ofstorage device or medium capable of storing data and/or othercomputer-readable instructions.

In certain embodiments, and with reference to exemplary computing system610 of FIG. 6, a communication interface, such as communicationinterface 622 in FIG. 6, may be used to provide connectivity betweeneach client system 710, 720, and 730 and network 750. Client systems710, 720, and 730 may be able to access information on server 740 or 745using, for example, a web browser or other client software. Suchsoftware may allow client systems 710, 720, and 730 to access datahosted by server 740, server 745, storage devices 760(1)-(N), storagedevices 770(1)-(N), storage devices 790(1)-(N), or intelligent storagearray 795. Although FIG. 7 depicts the use of a network (such as theInternet) for exchanging data, the embodiments described and/orillustrated herein are not limited to the Internet or any particularnetwork-based environment.

In at least one embodiment, all or a portion of one or more of theexemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be encoded as a computerprogram and loaded onto and executed by server 740, server 745, storagedevices 760(1)-(N), storage devices 770(1)-(N), storage devices790(1)-(N), intelligent storage array 795, or any combination thereof.All or a portion of one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosedherein may also be encoded as a computer program, stored in server 740,run by server 745, and distributed to client systems 710, 720, and 730over network 750.

As detailed above, computing system 610 and/or one or more components ofnetwork architecture 700 may perform and/or be a means for performing,either alone or in combination with other elements, one or more steps ofan exemplary method for injecting drivers into computing systems duringrestore operations.

While the foregoing disclosure sets forth various embodiments usingspecific block diagrams, flowcharts, and examples, each block diagramcomponent, flowchart step, operation, and/or component described and/orillustrated herein may be implemented, individually and/or collectively,using a wide range of hardware, software, or firmware (or anycombination thereof) configurations. In addition, any disclosure ofcomponents contained within other components should be consideredexemplary in nature since many other architectures can be implemented toachieve the same functionality.

In some examples, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1 mayrepresent portions of a cloud-computing or network-based environment.Cloud-computing environments may provide various services andapplications via the Internet. These cloud-based services (e.g.,software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as aservice, etc.) may be accessible through a web browser or other remoteinterface. Various functions described herein may be provided through aremote desktop environment or any other cloud-based computingenvironment.

In various embodiments, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG.1 may facilitate multi-tenancy within a cloud-based computingenvironment. In other words, the software modules described herein mayconfigure a computing system (e.g., a server) to facilitatemulti-tenancy for one or more of the functions described herein. Forexample, one or more of the software modules described herein mayprogram a server to enable two or more clients (e.g., customers) toshare an application that is running on the server. A server programmedin this manner may share an application, operating system, processingsystem, and/or storage system among multiple customers (i.e., tenants).One or more of the modules described herein may also partition dataand/or configuration information of a multi-tenant application for eachcustomer such that one customer cannot access data and/or configurationinformation of another customer.

According to various embodiments, all or a portion of exemplary system100 in FIG. 1 may be implemented within a virtual environment. Forexample, the modules and/or data described herein may reside and/orexecute within a virtual machine. As used herein, the term “virtualmachine” generally refers to any operating system environment that isabstracted from computing hardware by a virtual machine manager (e.g., ahypervisor). Additionally or alternatively, the modules and/or datadescribed herein may reside and/or execute within a virtualizationlayer. As used herein, the term “virtualization layer” generally refersto any data layer and/or application layer that overlays and/or isabstracted from an operating system environment. A virtualization layermay be managed by a software virtualization solution (e.g., a filesystem filter) that presents the virtualization layer as though it werepart of an underlying base operating system. For example, a softwarevirtualization solution may redirect calls that are initially directedto locations within a base file system and/or registry to locationswithin a virtualization layer.

In some examples, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1 mayrepresent portions of a mobile computing environment. Mobile computingenvironments may be implemented by a wide range of mobile computingdevices, including mobile phones, tablet computers, e-book readers,personal digital assistants, wearable computing devices (e.g., computingdevices with a head-mounted display, smartwatches, etc.), and the like.In some examples, mobile computing environments may have one or moredistinct features, including, for example, reliance on battery power,presenting only one foreground application at any given time, remotemanagement features, touchscreen features, location and movement data(e.g., provided by Global Positioning Systems, gyroscopes,accelerometers, etc.), restricted platforms that restrict modificationsto system-level configurations and/or that limit the ability ofthird-party software to inspect the behavior of other applications,controls to restrict the installation of applications (e.g., to onlyoriginate from approved application stores), etc. Various functionsdescribed herein may be provided for a mobile computing environmentand/or may interact with a mobile computing environment.

In addition, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1 mayrepresent portions of, interact with, consume data produced by, and/orproduce data consumed by one or more systems for information management.As used herein, the term “information management” may refer to theprotection, organization, and/or storage of data. Examples of systemsfor information management may include, without limitation, storagesystems, backup systems, archival systems, replication systems, highavailability systems, data search systems, virtualization systems, andthe like.

In some embodiments, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1may represent portions of, produce data protected by, and/or communicatewith one or more systems for information security. As used herein, theterm “information security” may refer to the control of access toprotected data. Examples of systems for information security mayinclude, without limitation, systems providing managed securityservices, data loss prevention systems, identity authentication systems,access control systems, encryption systems, policy compliance systems,intrusion detection and prevention systems, electronic discoverysystems, and the like.

According to some examples, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 inFIG. 1 may represent portions of, communicate with, and/or receiveprotection from one or more systems for endpoint security. As usedherein, the term “endpoint security” may refer to the protection ofendpoint systems from unauthorized and/or illegitimate use, access,and/or control. Examples of systems for endpoint protection may include,without limitation, anti-malware systems, user authentication systems,encryption systems, privacy systems, spam-filtering services, and thelike.

The process parameters and sequence of steps described and/orillustrated herein are given by way of example only and can be varied asdesired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or describedherein may be shown or discussed in a particular order, these steps donot necessarily need to be performed in the order illustrated ordiscussed. The various exemplary methods described and/or illustratedherein may also omit one or more of the steps described or illustratedherein or include additional steps in addition to those disclosed.

While various embodiments have been described and/or illustrated hereinin the context of fully functional computing systems, one or more ofthese exemplary embodiments may be distributed as a program product in avariety of forms, regardless of the particular type of computer-readablemedia used to actually carry out the distribution. The embodimentsdisclosed herein may also be implemented using software modules thatperform certain tasks. These software modules may include script, batch,or other executable files that may be stored on a computer-readablestorage medium or in a computing system. In some embodiments, thesesoftware modules may configure a computing system to perform one or moreof the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

In addition, one or more of the modules described herein may transformdata, physical devices, and/or representations of physical devices fromone form to another. For example, one or more of the modules recitedherein may receive restore operation data to be transformed, transformthe restore operation data, output a result of the transformation to aDISM application, use the result of the transformation to inject driversinto a system volume, and store the result of the transformation to acomputing device. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of themodules recited herein may transform a processor, volatile memory,non-volatile memory, and/or any other portion of a physical computingdevice from one form to another by executing on the computing device,storing data on the computing device, and/or otherwise interacting withthe computing device.

The preceding description has been provided to enable others skilled inthe art to best utilize various aspects of the exemplary embodimentsdisclosed herein. This exemplary description is not intended to beexhaustive or to be limited to any precise form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible without departing from thespirit and scope of the instant disclosure. The embodiments disclosedherein should be considered in all respects illustrative and notrestrictive. Reference should be made to the appended claims and theirequivalents in determining the scope of the instant disclosure.

Unless otherwise noted, the terms “connected to” and “coupled to” (andtheir derivatives), as used in the specification and claims, are to beconstrued as permitting both direct and indirect (i.e., via otherelements or components) connection. In addition, the terms “a” or “an,”as used in the specification and claims, are to be construed as meaning“at least one of.” Finally, for ease of use, the terms “including” and“having” (and their derivatives), as used in the specification andclaims, are interchangeable with and have the same meaning as the word“comprising.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for injectingdrivers into computing systems during restore operations, at least aportion of the method being performed by a computing device comprisingat least one processor, the method comprising: identifying a restoreoperation directed to restoring a system volume on a computing system;locating, at least in part by examining a hardware configuration of thecomputing system being restored, at least one driver utilized by thehardware configuration; representing the system volume as an image to adeployment image servicing and management application; causing thedeployment image servicing and management application to inject thedriver into the computing system as part of the restore operation. 2.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein locating the drivercomprises locating an identifier of the driver in a driver database andretrieving the driver from the driver database.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein locating the drivercomprises retrieving the driver from a driver store maintained by arestore application that is performing the restore operation.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein locating the drivercomprises prompting a user for a location of the driver.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein examining the hardwareconfiguration of the computing system comprises examining the hardwareconfiguration during the restore operation.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein identifying the restore operation directed torestoring the system volume comprises detecting, on the system volume, afile structure that is characteristic of the system volume.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein causing the deploymentimage servicing and management application to inject the drivercomprises interacting with the deployment image servicing and managementapplication via an application programming interface.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determiningthat the driver represents an incorrect driver for the hardwareconfiguration; automatically restarting the restore operation; locatinga correct driver for the hardware configuration; causing the deploymentimage servicing and management application to inject the correct driver.9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:identifying an additional restore operation on the computing system;determining that the computing system comprises a different hardwareconfiguration that does not utilize the driver; removing, as part of theadditional restore operation, the driver that is not utilized by thedifferent hardware configuration.
 10. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the step of causing the deployment image servicing andmanagement application to inject the driver into the computing systemoccurs after deployment of the system volume to the computing system.11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step ofexamining the hardware configuration occurs after deployment of thesystem volume to the computing system such that the steps of locatingand injecting the driver are hardware agnostic.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the step of locating thedriver is contingent on determining that the restore operation isdirected to restoring the system volume and not a data volume.
 13. Asystem for injecting drivers into computing systems during restoreoperations, the system comprising: an identification module, stored inmemory, that identifies a restore operation directed to restoring asystem volume on a computing system; a location module, stored inmemory, that locates, at least in part by examining a hardwareconfiguration of the computing system being restored, at least onedriver utilized by the hardware configuration; a representation module,stored in memory, that represents the system volume as an image to adeployment image servicing and management application; an injectionmodule, stored in memory, that causes the deployment image servicing andmanagement application to inject the driver into the computing system aspart of the restore operation; at least one physical processorconfigured to execute the identification module, the location module,the representation module, and the injection module.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein: the location module locates the driver by locating anidentifier of the driver in a driver database; the system furthercomprises a retrieval module, stored in memory, that retrieves thedriver from the driver database.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein thelocation module locates the driver by retrieving the driver from adriver store maintained by a restore application that is performing therestore operation.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the locationmodule locates the driver by prompting a user for a location of thedriver.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the location module examinesthe hardware configuration of the computing system by examining thehardware configuration during the restore operation.
 18. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the identification module identifies the restoreoperation directed to restoring the system volume by detecting, on thesystem volume, a file structure that is characteristic of the systemvolume.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the injection module causesthe deployment image servicing and management application to inject thedriver by interacting with the deployment image servicing and managementapplication via an application programming interface.
 20. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising one or morecomputer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor of a computing device, cause the computing device to: identifya restore operation directed to restoring a system volume on a computingsystem; locate, at least in part by examining a hardware configurationof the computing system being restored, at least one driver utilized bythe hardware configuration; represent the system volume as an image to adeployment image servicing and management application; cause thedeployment image servicing and management application to inject thedriver into the computing system as part of the restore operation.